Hello Everyone,
Today we left Cusco and headed for the hills. Our drive took us out of the city through the rolling hills and mountains, stopping at some Incan ruins and having a coffee and snack break in the small town of Mollepata. After another 30 minutes of driving on a windy gravel road we reached the trailhead at over 11,000ft. The hike today started out steep through the beautiful countryside and ended following old Incan aqueduct above the valley looking out to snow capped peaks. We arrived at our first lodge with a very welcoming staff and a nice reprieve from the cooling temperatures as the sun set behind the high peaks. After getting moved into our rooms we relaxed before our delicious fresh trout dinner. The lodges here are truly incredible! We were tired after a long day of hiking and trying to adjust to our new altitude of 12,700ft. Everyone is doing great though! Tomorrow will be an acclimatization day where we will climb up to an alpine lake and back down for an afternoon of relaxing.
We have had a lot of laughs and good conversations and are looking forward to more tomorrow. It’s a little hard to describe the day today without using the word “perfect.”
Thanks for following along!
Below is a picture of the group testing out their front pack carry. Luckily, no one used that technique today:-).
Ben
